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Minor MLB Transactions: 5/6/18

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The latest minor moves from around baseball:

  • The Braves have selected right-hander Luke Jackson’s contract from Triple-A and optioned fellow righty Lucas Sims, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on Twitter. Jackson’s now back on Atlanta’s 40-man roster after the club outrighted him two weeks ago. The 26-year-old appeared in two of the Braves’ games this season before they booted him from their roster, allowing two earned runs on two walks and one hit in 1 1/3 innings. Jackson has experienced some success in the minors this year, on the other hand, having pitched to a 3.86 ERA with 12.54 K/9, 5.79 BB/9 and a 50 percent groundball rate across 9 1/3 frames.

Minor MLB Transactions: 4/23/18

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We’ll kick off the week with Monday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Dodgers picked up right-hander Tyler Pill from the Diamondbacks in exchange for cash considerations in a minor swap late last week (Twitter link via J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group). Pill, 27, signed a minor league deal with the D-backs after making his big league debut with the Mets in 2017. The brother of former big league first baseman Brett Pill, Tyler tossed 22 innings for the Mets and yielded 13 earned runs (5.32 ERA) on 22 hits and 10 walks with 16 strikeouts last season. He’s posted solid numbers up through Double-A but struggled at the Triple-A level, although those shaky results came exclusively at an exceptionally hitter-friendly setting in Las Vegas (and the Pacific Coast League in general). Pill debuted with the Dodgers’ own Triple-A affiliate over the weekend and tossed three scoreless frames. He’ll add some depth to an organization that shuffles its pitching staff and the fringes of its 40-man roster perhaps more aggressively than any club in the game.
  • Right-hander Luke Jackson cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A by the Braves after being designated for assignment last week, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. The 26-year-old Jackson owns a 4.85 ERA and a 36-to-21 K/BB ratio in 52 innings with the Braves over the past two seasons and has struggled to a 5.79 ERA in 70 total innings at the big league level. Jackson hasn’t missed enough bats in the big leagues (5.8 K/9, 10.7 H/9), but he does have a track record of missing bats in the minors (career 9.8 K/9).
  • Also via Eddy, the Reds have released outfielder Adam Brett Walker from the organization. Walker, 27, was a third-round pick of the Twins in 2012 and boasts huge raw power but plenty of swing-and-miss issues as well as a limited defensive skill set. Minnesota removed him from the 40-man roster after the 2016 season, and he landed with the Brewers, Orioles (twice), Braves and Reds via a series of waivers claims and minor league signings in 2017 alone. Walker’s power is evident in looking at his career .232 ISO in the minors, but he’s whiffed in 30.9 percent of his minor league plate appearances — including an enormous 37.4 percent strikeout clip in Triple-A.

Braves Designate Luke Jackson

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The Braves have designated right-hander Luke Jackson for assignment, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. His spot on the Braves’ 25-man roster will go to righty Lucas Sims, whom they recalled from Triple-A.

This is the second time since last December that the Braves have designated the 26-year-old Jackson, who rejoined their 40-man roster when they selected his contract April 4. Jackson then went on to make only two appearances, during which he combined for 1 1/3 innings and gave up two earned runs on two hits and a walk. He yielded both of those earned runs as part of the Braves’ epic collapse Saturday against the Cubs, who rallied back from a 10-2 deficit to escape with a 14-10 win.

Sims, 23, has been a well-regarded prospect at times since Atlanta chose him 21st overall in the 2012 draft. He struggled during his first major league promotion last season, though, with a 5.62 ERA/5.07 FIP across 57 2/3 innings (14 appearances, 10 starts).

Braves Designate Chris Stewart, Select Contract Of Luke Jackson

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The Braves announced a roster move today after burning through some relief arms in last night’s contest. The club has designated catcher Chris Stewart for assignment to create roster space for righty Luke Jackson, whose contract was selected.

Stewart, 36, joined the Atlanta organization on a non-guaranteed MLB deal over the winter. He made the Opening Day roster, though it’s not known what financial obligations the Braves will carry after today’s move. (It is possible that the club worked out an advanced consent agreement in advance to avoid being on the hook for a full season of salary.)

The veteran receiver received quite a bit of action early in 2018 with both Tyler Flowers and Kurt Suzuki dealing with injuries. But the Braves ended up landing another option in Carlos Perez, obviating the need to continue carrying the light-hitting Stewart with the top two backstops on the mend.

As for Jackson, he had been bounced from the 40-man roster in late December but will get an early shot at redemption. Of course, he could ultimately also be a roster casualty when a need arises. The 26-year-old owns a 5.64 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 68 2/3 total MLB innings.

Minor MLB Transactions: 1/5/18

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Here are Friday’s minor moves from around the game…

  • The Rangers have inked a minor-league pact with right-hander Brandon Cumpton, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning news (Twitter link). Arm troubles have limited the 29-year-old of late, but he did return to professional action in 2017 after a two-year hiatus. Over 37 1/3 innings, Cumpton pitched to a 3.86 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9.
  • As Cumpton leaves the Pirates organization, two other right-handers are on their way in, according to John Dreker of Pirates Prospects. Tyler Jones and Bo Schultz have each joined the Bucs on minor-league arrangements, per the report. The former will be looking to crack the majors for the first time. He has often produced quality strikeout rates in the upper minors but only managed a 4.38 ERA in 63 2/3 innings at Triple-A last year with the Yankees organization. As for Schultz, the former Blue Jays reliever will be looking to return from Tommy John surgery. Schultz turned in a useful 2015 season but faltered in the ensuing season — he worked to a 5.51 ERA in his 16 1/3 MLB innings — before going under the knife.
  • Righty William Cuevas will join the Red Sox organization on a minor-league pact, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. The 27-year-old has spent the bulk of his career in the Boston organization but played elsewhere in 2017. He worked to a 4.85 ERA in 104 Triple-A frames in 2017, with 7.0 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9. Cuevas has twice cracked the majors, but only briefly.
  • Yet another right-handed hurler, Preston Guilmet, is heading to the Cardinals on a minors deal, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets. He’ll get a spring invite and can earn at a $600K rate in the majors. The 30-year-old Guilmet has seen parts of three seasons in the majors but only has 23 career innings at the game’s highest level. He has put up some interesting results of late, though, posting a 2.77 ERA with 10.8 K/9 against 1.6 BB/9 in 68 1/3 Triple-A frames in 2016 before heading to Japan and running a 3.62 ERA with 9.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in his 54 2/3 innings for the Yakult Swallows (over four starts and 28 relief appearances).

Earlier Updates

  • The Tigers have agreed to a minor league deal with former Cardinals shortstop Pete Kozma, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (on Twitter). Kozma, 30 in April, split the 2017 season between the Rangers and Yankees organizations and logged 51 plate appearances in the Majors, though he batted just .111/.200/.178 in that small sample. Long considered an excellent defender with a light bat, Kozma is a career .215/.282/.285 hitter in parts of six MLB seasons but also comes with a career +11 Defensive Runs Saved mark and +9 Ultimate Zone Rating in 1450 innings at shortstop.
  • The Braves announced yesterday that right-handed reliever Luke Jackson cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Gwinnett. Once a well-regarded prospect in the Rangers system, the now-26-year-old Jackson posted an ERA north of 6.00 and walked 16 batters in 24 1/3 innings with Gwinnett last season. He actually performed better in the Majors, logging a 4.62 ERA in 50 1/3 frames, albeit with pedestrian averages of 5.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 with a 45.2 percent grounder rate. Jackson does have a history of missing bats in the upper minors and did average 94.7 mph on his heater last year while running up a 10.2 percent swinging-strike rate, so there’s some hope that he could yet figure things out.

Braves Acquire Preston Tucker, Designate Luke Jackson

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The Braves have acquired outfielder Preston Tucker from the Astros, per an announcement from the Atlanta organization. Cash or a player to be named will go back in return. To open 40-man space, the Braves designated righty Luke Jackson.

Tucker is an interesting addition for a Braves organization that recently shed regular corner outfielder Matt Kemp. The young, left-handed-hitting Tucker is a possible platoon piece. He might pair with Lane Adams, for instance, if the organization decides it’d prefer to keep top prospect Ronald Acuna at Triple-A to open the season.

It’s certainly possible that Tucker could still turn into a valuable big league asset. The 27-year-old slashed .250/.333/.465 with 24 long balls in 569 Triple-A plate appearances in 2017. He has also shown an ability to hit the ball out of the yard in the majors, having popped 13 long balls in 323 plate appearances in 2015, though he also managed only a .297 OBP in that run, struggled badly in the ensuing season and has not seen the bigs since.

As for Jackson, the writing was likely on the wall as the Braves began committing 40-man spots to other relievers over the winter. The 26-year-old has a big fastball and managed a decent 10.2% swinging-strike rate in 2017, but managed only 5.9 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9 along with 4.62 ERA over 50 2/3 innings in his first extended MLB action.

Braves Select Contract Of Tony Sanchez, Retract Announcement Of Micah Johnson DFA

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12:20pm: Although the Braves announced in a morning press release that Johnson had been designated for assignment, the team now tells reporters that Johnson has not been designated and that there was some internal miscommunication (Twitter link via David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Atlanta considered designating Johnson but ultimately elected to keep him on the roster due to the fact that they already had an open 40-man spot for Sanchez.

10:11am: The Braves announced that they have designated infielder Micah Johnson for assignment as part of a series of roster moves. Johnson’s 40-man roster spot will go to catcher Tony Sanchez, who was acquired yesterday in the trade that sent Brandon Phillips to the Angels.

The Braves have also activated lefty Ian Krol and righty Luke Jackson from the 10-day DL, while recalling left-handers Max Fried and Rex Brothers and third baseman Rio Ruiz from Triple-A Gwinnett.

Johnson, 26, was once one of the White Sox’ best-regarded prospects, but his stock has fallen in recent years. He was shipped from Chicago to Los Angeles as part of the three-time Todd Frazier trade in the 2015-16 offseason, and the Dodgers flipped him to the Braves for cash this past winter. Injuries limited his playing time this season, but Johnson batted .301/.391/.390 across three levels (mostly Triple-A — 36 games) in a total of 157 plate appearances. He’s a career .282/.341/.392 hitter in Triple-A bu has struggled in his brief exposure to the Majors.

Sanchez, meanwhile, is a known name due to his status as the former No. 4 overall pick in the draft (Pirates, 2009). He hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2015, though, and has never enjoyed much success at the game’s top level. In parts of three seasons, the now-29-year-old Sanchez has totaled 155 plate appearances and batted .259/.303/.378. He’s hit for a respectable .272 average and gotten on base at a solid .355 clip through 70 Triple-A contests this season, though he’s scarcely hit for power (.374 slugging, .102 ISO, four homers in 284 PAs).

Roster Notes: Tigers, Marlins, Mets, Braves, Padres, Indians

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Here are a few roster moves from around the game:

  • The Tigers announced that, after Friday’s game, they optioned righty William Cuevas to Triple-A Toledo and promoted righty Warwick Saupold to take his place. Cuevas made his 2017 big-league debut Friday and didn’t make a good impression, giving up four runs over just a third of an inning. Saupold was off to a good start for Toledo, allowing just two runs and three walks while striking out nine over 10 2/3 innings.
  • After a 16-inning ballgame depleted the Marlins bullpen, the club has called up southpaw Jarlin Garcia, as Tim Healey of the Sun Sentinel reported. Righty Nick Wittgren was sent back down to Triple-A on optional assignment in a corresponding move.
  • Miami’s opponent in that marathon game, the Mets, also dipped into their farm for an arm. New York announced that Sean Gilmartin will take a spot in the pen. Utilityman T.J. Rivera will be optioned for the time being, though he seems likely to return once the pitching staff gets back on its feet.
  • Braves outfielder Matt Kemp, meanwhile, is slated to return on Wednesday from a hamstring issue, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets, meaning he’d only miss the ten-day minimum. Meanwhile, Atlanta has called up righty Luke Jackson for his first stint with the club. Fellow right-hander Jason Hursh was optioned to create an opening.
  • The Padres have also done some roster tweaking, activating catcher Hector Sanchez from the 7-day concussion DL and also calling back righty Kevin Quackenbush. The club also announced that Jabari Blash and Jake Esch were optioned to make way on the active roster. While Blash has been outrighted off the 40-man in the past, and was only recently re-added when he was recalled, he’ll hold onto his spot for the time being while reporting to Triple-A.
  • The Indians have swapped a pair of righties, with the club announcing that Nick Goody will come up and Shawn Armstrong will head down. The move gave the team a fresh arm after Armstrong threw 49 pitches Thursday. Goody pitched two scoreless innings in his 2017 big-league debut last night.

Rangers Acquire Tyrell Jenkins, Brady Feigl From Braves For Luke Jackson

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6:59pm: Texas has announced the deal.

6:11pm: The Rangers and Braves have agreed to a trade that will send lefty Brady Feigl and righty Tyrell Jenkins to the Rangers, according to reports from Tommy Stokke of Fan Rag (via Twitter) and Keith Law of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Righty Luke Jackson is heading to Atlanta, Law adds on Twitter.

Tyrell Jenkins

It seems fair to characterize this as something of a change-of-scenery swap involving two similarly situated young righties. The 25-year-old Jackson and 24-year-old Jenkins each drew a fair amount of attention as prospects and reached the majors only recently. In both cases, limited exposure to the big leagues has led to questions as to whether (and in what role) they can stick.

Taken with the 45th overall selection in the 2010 draft, Jackson brings a big arm to the table but hasn’t yet found his bearings at the game’s highest level. Over 18 MLB innings in the last two years, he has allowed 17 earned runs on 27 hits and ten walks, while retiring just nine batters via strikeout.

Though he has shown swing-and-miss stuff at all levels of the minors, and delivers a mid-to-upper-nineties fastball, Jackson has also long struggled with control. He has walked 4.6 batters per nine in his minor-league career, and a full-time shift to the pen hasn’t really helped much. In his 46 1/3 innings at Double-A and Triple-A last year, Jackson issued 32 free passes, though he also racked up 59 strikeouts.

For Jenkins, who joined the Atlanta organization as a part of the Jason Heyward-Shelby Miller swap, the results have been good in the upper minors over the last two years. But that has come in spite of a lack of strikeouts and uninspiring peripherals. Last year, for instance, he struck out 5.9 and walked 3.8 batters per nine over 83 2/3 Triple-A innings. He did end with a 2.47 ERA, though, in large part because he limited opposing hitters to just three home runs.

The dinger suppression did not continue when Jenkins hit the majors. He was touched for 11 long balls in his first 52 MLB frames. Over eight starts and six relief appearances in 2016, Jenkins worked to a 5.88 ERA while allowing 33 walks and striking out only 26 hitters.

There’s another piece being chipped in by the Braves, in the form of the 25-year-old Feigl. An undrafted product of Mount Saint Mary’s University, Feigl has been limited to 72 1/3 professional innings — mostly in the lower minors — as he fought through Tommy John surgery. He has shown well when healthy, though, posting a 2.74 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rangers Designate Roman Mendez For Assignment

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The Rangers have designated right-hander Roman Mendez for assignment, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Additionally, left-hander Alex Claudio has been recalled from Triple-A Round Rock and placed on the Major League 60-day disabled list to clear another 40-man roster spot. The Rangers have announced that those roster spots will go to Drew Stubbs and Ross Ohlendorf. Additionally, Joey Gallo and Luke Jackson.

The 25-year-old Mendez has totaled 11 2/3 innings with the Rangers in 2015, working to a sub-par 5.40 ERA with nine strikeouts against seven walks (one intentional). He did enjoy success in 2014, posting an excellent 2.18 ERA over the life of 33 innings, although that strong mark came with underwhelming peripherals. Mendez averaged 6.0 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9 last year, benefiting from a minuscule and unsustainable .194 BABIP (to say nothing of a bloated 86 percent strand rate).

Claudio, 23, has a 2.89 ERA with 8.7 K/9, 3.2 BB/9 and a 54.3 percent ground-ball rate. He’s been slowed by injuries in 2015, but he could potentially be a lefty specialist for Texas in future seasons. He’s held lefties to a .212/.250/.365 batting line over the course of his career, but he’s been roughed up by righties, who have knocked him around at a .273/.359/.473 clip.

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